


Is This a Farewell or Another Way to Say Hello?

by OfficeShoeBoxedUp



Category: Unus Annus - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27563482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfficeShoeBoxedUp/pseuds/OfficeShoeBoxedUp
Summary: Unus Annus is finished. And so forth, the two that represent the channel are required to leave.If you can, take closure. You won't regret it.
Relationships: Unus & Annus
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Is This a Farewell or Another Way to Say Hello?

And so comes the end. Unus and Annus watch it occur, the world fading from a black void to an endless space of white, stretching forever and still going nowhere. A paradox, of the world and their very existence. Unus looks to Annus, watching the physical form he had taken begin to dissipate into the thin air, shards of him flaking off and scattering into the distance. He could feel the same occurring to him, but reaches past the coming blankness, and back to his one year host, dressed still in fine dark clothes. 

A small countdown rests against his mid arm, the only indication of what had passed during the last 12 hours. The suit he wears doesn’t restrict his movement, rather keeping him still and comfortable in the position as he slumbers on. With a gentle push, he enters Ethan’s mind, looking for him. 

The dream Ethan is currently in resembles an open meadow, picturesque blue sky with small, thin wispy clouds scurrying across the vast expanse. Grass is around ankle length, and he follows a slightly flattened path to Ethan, who is sitting on the ground at the crest of a hill. His hands are bunched in the grass occasionally flexing and unflexing, worrying the roots of the thin grasses. 

“Ethan,” Unus greets, watching the other spin around. “The deed is done, we are finished.” 

“So now what?” Ethan exclaims, hastily getting to his feet and beginning to rock back and forth, hands shoved in his pockets. “What’s our next video, the next thing we’re going to do?” 

“There’s nothing left to do, I’m afraid. Time’s up.” 

Ethan freezes, removing his hands from his pockets slowly. “But… that’s impossible. Mark and I still have to do the…” he stops, taking a long look at his surroundings. “Livestream,” he murmurs, wrapping one arm around the other. “You did it without us?” 

“No, we didn’t. Annus and I agreed that it would be best if you and Mark were not present physically. However, you still were at the livestream. Every action, every word spoken, every thought made, that was all you. Only in this case, your mind was asleep, and I controlled the body.” Unus explained, watching a slight flicker of rage inside Ethan’s eyes. 

“So what? Are you just here now to gloat about it? Shove it into my face that I wasn’t the one running the show?” The other spat, face morphing from disbelief to anger. “Just because I wasn’t there doesn’t mean that you can just hide the truth from me.”

“I’m not,” Unus responded calmly, hands instinctively falling into their triangle form. “I am here to say goodbye.” 

“Goodbye? That’s the same thing!”

Unus chuckled slightly, shaking his head. “No, Ethan, it means that I’m dying.”

Shock darted across Ethan’s face, followed by an entire range of expressions. “You’re… I know you’re supposed to after a year but… gods, has it really been that long? I thought we had so much more time!” He begins to breathe heavily, sinking down onto his knees. 

Catching him just before he collapses, Unus eases him down carefully to the ground, folding his legs underneath him and beginning to run a hand through his hair to try and soothe him. “I know. Time runs a lot faster whenever you don’t pay attention to them, and because of this, time ran out all too fast today. But, then again, you’ll remember everything we’ve ever done together, the fans will remember what you started, and the legacy left behind by both you and Mark will inspire an entire generation. It doesn’t matter if the ending is here, now, only that the ending is what you wanted it to be.”

He pauses, leaning back to take in the mindscape one last time, savoring the grassy air, the wild sunlight, the tossing winds, the warm atmosphere Ethan’s mind always gave. _Are you content with what you have done?_

Ethan’s eyes begin to slip closed, a single tear leaking from them. “Yes,” he whispers, before falling asleep, the tear sliding down his cheek and plopping into the soft, earthen dirt besides the two of them. Though it should have made no sound, not even faintly register in either of their minds, it reverberated loudly, like a single droplet in an empty, echoing chamber. Unus releases him, and stands up, glancing out over the horizon. Behind him, the sun falls into the abyss of the world, dark colours rushing to take its place in the sky, giving birth to a starry sky filled with light beyond what most could see. 

He inhales, and does not exhale. 

——

Annus remembers that he will die, in this very moment, between this one and the next. And yet, in that short period of time, he reaches out, takes his host, and sends him spinning again. 

Tonight, they’re dressed for show, spinning about in a ballroom. The theme is clearly of masks, with several being bone decorated and only a few elegantly plumed. Annus is sharp, white suit tucked neatly against his body. A small and thin porcelain mask rests against his face, newly acquired top hat perched carefully on his head, and a sturdy cane rests by his legs, keeping him propped up. He doesn’t need it, per se, but the role he plays tonight requires it. 

“Welcome one, and welcome all!” rings out through the ballroom, and all conversation stops to glance up towards the centre staircases. At the top stands Mark, dressed in a flamboyant pink suit jacket and deep black slacks, clinging to his legs. He grins down at the ballroom, holding aloft a glass of champagne. 

“To the New Year!” he cries, the chant being picked up and sent echoing around the room. Carefully descending the stairs so as to not throw his drink everywhere, he mingles with the guests, eventually passing the glass to a waiter in complementary pink who all too conveniently passes by, swapping it for a fresh one. 

“Ahh, Mr. Yancy. It’s a pleasure to see you again after all these years,” he rumbles, striding up from behind to clasp his hands on the other man’s shoulders, who jumps, before light-heartedly shoving him away. “It’s good to see you too sir. Apologies for being unable to attend your last few gatherings, I was quite busy with… work.” 

Mark made a dismissal noise, waving a hand in front of him. “It’s okay, Yance. I get that you get busy, just stop by and try to see me if you’re ever having trouble.” The younger smiles, before ducking out of the way of Annus, who comes straight forward, on a path to interrupt Mark. 

“Annus, buddy, how you doing?” Mark asked, taking a slow sip of his champagne. Annus raises an eyebrow at him, Mark realizing what he had just done. “I, uh… ignore that.” 

“Wasn’t going to point it out anyways. I have news.” 

Mark immediately brightens, drink forgotten. “Oh really? Did you and Unus figure out how you all wanted to do the livestream?” 

Annus winces. “We just finished. I came to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” Mark repeats. “But, we’re about to start the livestream, how are you already leaving?”

“We conducted the service through your bodies. In part, we were essentially piloting them.” Annus says, studying Mark’s face closely. Mark himself shrugs, seemingly unbothered. "It's fine, I was going to ask anyway if you would do it. Oh, speaking of…"

Passing the glass off to another waiter, this time in a gentle blue, he gestures around the ballroom. "How do you like the place? I wanted to make sure it was all fancy and formal, so your goodbye would be something of a spectacular." 

"It's wonderful," Annus mutters, taking in the sights again. Occasionally, all the attendees would flicker into black and white, a few of them becoming even more striking. Watching one in particular who spun across the ballroom floor in an elegantly decorated ball gown, the dress covered about with skulls and bones. 

"I was hoping it was," Mark says, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Now, we've got precious seconds here, and we can't afford to waste them on tears. Let's instead look forward, to see what lies ahead. After all, someone could lose a head tomorrow." Annus laughs at that, form crackling like TV snow. "Look at you, already breaking up with us. C'mon, I thought we had that connection!"

"Everything's temporary, Mark. I thought we taught you this lesson well!" Annus jokes. _Don't fear death, fear forgetting._

"Don't forget us, Mark." He says, fizzling in the air like a dying firecracker. "After all, we never did everything together, and I'm holding you to that." He winks, and in an instant, is gone. 

In the space he stands now, alone, Mark can feel the slight emptiness echo in his heart. Even if he wasn't one of the others, he still felt like one of them. A third waiter passing by in all black notices this, and simply gives him a little sausage platter. "For good time's sake."

——

It's almost like no time has passed since they left, and yet here they stand, still drifting away into the infinite. Unus glances over to Annus, whose eyes shine with milky tears. "Are you ready, dear friend?" 

Annus shakes his head, sniffling slightly. "It's been a great year." 

"That it has," Unus murmured, bringing a hand up to wipe away his own inky tears.

"Do you think we gave the fans a proper send off?" 

"Without a doubt. We couldn't have done much more without destroying the fans completely."

Unus looks down, watching the slow progression of death upon his body. "I wonder what we'll look like next time. We got lucky, with these two.” 

Annus sighs, tilting his head back, observing flakes of white drifting from his hands. “That’s true. Maybe we’ll be here again, sooner than we could ever expect.” 

_Only time will tell. Farewell, Annus. May we meet again, in different forms, and different names._

_Farewell, Unus. May life treat you well._

**Author's Note:**

> So, how's today's Unus Annus video? I've got a few WiFi problems, so I can't watch it, but I hope it's really good! The livestream 12 hours ago was great, and honestly can't wait to see what they have planned for the channel!


End file.
